1.1.1. Background

There is worldwide concern that human activities such as pollution, habitat destruction, over-exploitation and foreign plant and animal invasions are resulting in the ever-increasing loss of the earth's biological wealth. The implications of this are considerable. If continued unabated, we stand to lose crucial life-support systems through the loss of important habitats; to undermine rural livelihoods, with the degradation of the natural resource base on which people depend; and to diminish economic opportunities, as options for developing medicines and foods are reduced and the natural resource base for tourism is damaged.

Clearly, action is needed. However, if there is to be global cooperation to conserve biodiversity, recognition needs to be given to its uneven distribution around the world. Two-thirds of the world's biodiversity is located in developing countries, collectively termed 'The South', and provides an important resource for the economic development of such countries. Biodiversity conservation thus carries a heavier burden for developing countries than for the biologically poorer 'North', comprising the industrialised countries. Furthermore, it has largely been private companies in industrialised countries which have benefited from the South's biological riches. Thus, it is argued by developing countries that issues such as access to genetic resources and technology, and the equitable sharing of benefits from the conservation and use of biodiversity, must be included in any global agreements concerning biodiversity.

1.1.2. The Convention on Biological Diversity

It was in this context that the negotiations leading to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity were framed. Opened for signature in June 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), the Convention entered into force in December 1993. The treaty is a landmark in terms of reconciling environment and development as it couples environmental objectives to the need for development in developing countries. While recognising that the conservation of biodiversity is a "common concern" of humankind, it emphasises the fact that natural resources are the property of individual countries. It ties this right to a national responsibility for environmental conservation, placing most decision-making at the national level.

South Africa did not actively participate in the Convention negotiations and has largely been isolated from discussions around its issues. This has resulted in a general lack of awareness and understanding of the complex of issues that it raises. Many of these issues are, however, of importance for the country's economic development, and have considerable implications for the future use and conservation of our natural resources.

South Africa's response to this requirement is contained within this document, which articulates the country's policy and strategy towards achieving the objectives of the Convention.

1.2. South Africa's Biodiversity: A Living Heritage

1.2.1. A country of remarkable diversity

South Africa's unique biological diversity - the variety of genes, species, ecosystems and ecological processes occurring in the country - is an asset of international, national and local value and significance. Her rivers and wetlands, mountains and plains, estuaries and oceans, and magnificent coastline and landscapes contain an exceptionally rich and varied array of life forms which are integral to the existence of all South Africans, and upon which the national economy is fundamentally dependent.

The remarkable richness of South Africa's biodiversity is largely as a result of the mix of tropical and temperate climates and habitats occurring in the country. Indeed, South Africa ranks as the third most biologically diverse country in the world¹, and as such is of major global importance for biodiversity conservation (see Figure 1). This fact is mostly attributable to the extraordinary plant richness contained within the country: some 18,000 vascular plant species occur within our boundaries², of which 80% occur nowhere else. Furthermore, South Africa is the only country on Earth to have within its national confines an entire plant kingdom - one of just six in the world. Known as the Cape Floral Kingdom, this area has the highest recorded species diversity for any similar sized temperate or tropical region in the world. The Cape Floral Kingdom is the world's 'hottest hotspot' of global conservation concern, the term 'hotspot' referring to areas where high levels of species richness, endemism as well as threat coincide. Other biomes (or ecological units) in the country are also of global conservation significance, for example one third of the world's succulent plant species are found in South Africa.

In addition to this extraordinarily varied plant life, a wealth of animal life exists in the region, both in numbers and variety. South Africa hosts an estimated 5.8% of the world's total of mammal species; 8% of bird species; 4.6% of the global diversity of reptile species; 16% of the total number of marine fish species in the world; and 5.5% of the world's described insect species. In terms of the number of mammal, bird, reptile and amphibian species which occur only in this country ('endemics'), South Africa is the 24th richest country in the world, and the 5th richest in Africa.

South Africa's marine life is similarly diverse, partly as a result of the extreme contrast between the water masses on the East and West Coast. Three water masses - the cold Benguela current, the warm Agulhas current, and oceanic water - make the region one of the most oceanographically heterogeneous in the world.

Over 10,000 plant and animal species - almost 15% of the coastal species known worldwide - are found in South African waters, with about 12% of these occurring nowhere else.

Figure 1. Species Richness of South African Taxa³

The statistics in Figure 1 exclude many groups such as fungi and different types of microorganisms, and only reflect the numbers of some described species. Obtaining a more precise estimate is difficult, as no-one really knows the exact number of species that exist in South Africa. Nonetheless, we do know that species richness is extremely high. Estimates of total species numbers in the country vary from 250,000 to 1,000,000, a richness which is reflected in the vast array of ways in which our biological resources are used by rural and urban people, as well as by industrial concerns.

1.2.2. Biodiversity under threat

Human activity has been changing South African ecosystems for thousands of years, but the pace and extent of change increased rapidly with agricultural and industrial development. Present estimates suggest that a substantial proportion of natural habitat has been transformed largely by agriculture, urban developments, afforestation, mining, and dams. In addition to habitat loss and degradation, the overexploitation of certain species, the introduction of exotic species, and the pollution or toxification of the soil, water and atmosphere have had major effects on South Africa's terrestrial, freshwater and marine biodiversity. Already 3435 (15%) of South Africa's plant species, 102 (14%) of bird, 72 (24%) of reptile, 17 (18%) of amphibian, 90 (37%) of mammal, and 142 (22%) of butterfly species are listed as threatened in the South African Red Data Books, which indicate the conservation status of threatened species and ecosystems. In addition, many important ecosystems have been degraded, and ecological processes impaired. Trends indicate that this situation is not improving, and that growing human populations and unsustainable rates of resource consumption will result in increasing negative impacts on biodiversity. Unless we act fast and effectively, much biodiversity, including the life-support systems upon which we rely, will soon be lost.

1.2.3. The benefits of conserving biodiversity

What will happen if we do not take immediate action? We will undermine the natural resource base upon which people depend; we will foreclose existing and future economic opportunities of using biodiversity; and we will jeopardise ecological processes which are necessary to keep our country fit for life.

Benefits derived from species harvested in the wild. The benefits of conserving biodiversity are numerous. A large proportion of South Africa's population are directly dependent upon biological resources for subsistence purposes, including the gathering, harvesting or hunting of animals and plants for food, medicine, shelter, fuel, building materials, and trade. The use of biological resources thus provides an important buffer against poverty, as well as opportunities for self-employment in the informal sector. Several industries are also directly dependent upon the use of local species for economic gain. For example, the South African fishing, hunting, wildflower, horticulture, natural product and wood-harvesting industries are all, to varying extents, reliant upon species harvested from the wild.

Benefits derived from the direct use of ecosystems. But benefits arising from the conservation of South Africa's biodiversity are not only restricted to the direct use of species. South African ecosystems are directly used for grazing, croplands, mining, recreation and tourism. If such resources are not adequately conserved, we run the risk of losing the economic benefits gleaned from their use, and of foreclosing options for their use by future generations.

Benefits derived from ecological services. One of most fundamental benefits of conserving biodiversity lies in the ecological services which it provides. These are essential to fulfilling human needs as well as those of all life on Earth.

• maintenance of the hydrological cycle, and thus the provision of clean water;
• maintenance of atmospheric quality, which in turn provides pure air to breathe and helps to control the climate;
• the generation and conservation of soils, which are essential to agriculture and forestry;
• protection from erosion;
• nutrient cycling;
• pollutant breakdown and absorption;
• control of many potential crop pests and vectors of disease;
• the pollination of many crops;
• maintenance of a vast resource of genetic materials from which South Africa and other countries have developed crops, domestic animals, medicines and industrial products; and
• perhaps most importantly, the insurance and basis for adaptation which biodiversity provides against large changes in climate and ecosystem processes
• a factor of particular concern to South Africa, whose climate is expected to become increasingly drier as global climate changes.

Enriching our cultural diversity Benefits from conserving biodiversity go beyond material rewards. Through the use and appreciation of South Africa's biological diversity, a rich cultural and traditional knowledge and deep attachment to the country's natural heritage and beauty have developed amongst South Africa's people.

In the words of President Nelson Mandela,

"Each one of us is intimately attached to the soil of this beautiful country. Each time one of us touches the soil of this land, we feel a sense of personal renewal."
Inauguration Speech, 12 May 1994

1.3. The History of Biodiversity Conservation in South Africa

1.3.1. Terrestrial conservation

For many centuries, conservation has been practiced by the peoples of South Africa, evidence suggesting the application of elaborate natural resource management systems by indigenous African people such as the San, Khoi and Nguni prior to the country's colonisation. Because most traditional African societies were for the most part dependent upon natural resources, including the wildlife that surrounded them, political systems generally included a set of rules and procedures designed to regulate the use of natural resources. Examples include the setting aside of hunting preserves for Zulu royalty, soil conservation methods of the BaTswana people, and totemic protection among people such as the BaSotho. A rich folklore reflected the close relationship between traditional societies and nature, and linked people to the environment through an ethic which was strongly spiritual and cultural.

These systems changed substantially with the colonisation of South Africa, and in particular with the intensification of hunting activities by European settlers, the acquisition of guns by local people, and the ranching of cattle, sheep and goats. In a response to diminishing resources, a number of placaaten were promulgated by Jan van Riebeeck shortly after colonisation to protect gardens, lands, and trees from destruction, and the natural resources upon which the Dutch East India Company depended.

The first official protected areas in South Africa were the forest reserves of Knysna and Tsitsikamma, proclaimed in terms of the Cape Forest Act of 1888. This was followed by the establishment of forest services in Natal in 1891, and in the Orange Free State and Transvaal by 1903. Also established during this period, as a response to declining wildlife numbers and uncontrolled hunting, were a number of statutory game reserves, specifically the Pongola and Sabie Game Reserves in the Transvaal in 1894 and 1898 respectively, the Hluhluwe, Umfolozi and St Lucia Game Reserves in Zululand in 1895, and Giant's Castle in the Drakensberg in 1903. The location of such reserves was in many instances pre-determined by the presence of tsetse fly and malaria, or by the fact that their agricultural potential was poor.

After Union in 1910 the central government assumed conservation responsibility for forestry, inland waters, islands and the sea-shore, and in 1926 the first National Parks Act was promulgated. Fish and game preservation was, however, a function allocated to the provinces, who continued to expand their activities and establish nature conservation agencies to deal with the control and administration of biological resources. Noteworthy is the fact that from the 1860s onwards, many private landowners saw the need to protect game from hunting, and established preserves on their farms.⁴

After Union, and indeed up until recent times, influential lobbies continued to secure additional areas and stronger legislation for protected areas. However, despite the fact that nature conservation legislation continued to grow, this was neither part of a holistic land-use policy, nor matched by achieving the satisfactory conservation of biodiversity outside of protected areas. Moreover, the establishment of protected areas was often accompanied by forced removals and resource dispossession among black people. The dominant approach prevailing during this period was that protected areas ought to be "pristine", fenced-off areas. Such approaches have resulted in the widely held perception that protected areas are playgrounds for a privileged elite, and that biodiversity conservation is exclusive and irrelevant to the majority of South Africa's people.

Despite this history, there is little doubt that South Africa, and those charged with managing biodiversity, have made remarkable achievements towards achieving the conservation of our natural heritage. Indeed, South Africa is globally renowned for its nature conservation practices, a reputation it has gained primarily through the well developed system of protected areas in the country, and its efforts towards conserving threatened species. In this regard, past government policies have been extremely supportive of biodiversity conservation and developing the scientific capacity to manage biological resources. Of particular importance have been the extensive efforts over the past thirty years to expand nature conservation functions to private and communal lands, through conservancies, natural heritage sites, community conservation areas, and cooperative conservation models such as biosphere reserves.

1.3.2. Marine conservation

South Africa has a long history of using marine resources, dating back to prehistoric times. Even a thousand years ago, evidence from coastal middens suggests that at a local level resources were being over-exploited. The first documented fishery regulations were passed by Van Riebeek in the 17th century, although substantial attempts at management began only with the development of the major fisheries in the early twentieth century. As is the pattern throughout the world, initial resource discovery was followed by exploitation, with depletion occurring in many cases, following a typical "boom and bust" cycle. Whales, seals and penguins were among the first to decline to critical levels, but historically virtually every one of South Africa's marine resources, including rock lobster, pilchard, hake, kingklip, and most linefish, has been overexploited at some time. Many remain over-exploited, although when compared to other countries South Africa has a relatively well-managed fishery. Responsibility for the management of marine resources is vested in central government, which over the years has introduced a variety of measures to control exploitation. Poor enforcement of recreational and linefish regulations has, however, resulted in a large amount of poaching, which has been cited as one of the major causes of stock declines for endemic linefish and shellfish.

Several marine protected areas exist along the coastline, including two of the largest "no take" reserves in the world. However, their establishment has largely been ad hoc and few have management plans, staff or effective enforcement. Similarly, a lack of attention has been paid to coastal zone management, with estuaries in particular being the most threatened of South Africa's marine habitats.

As is the case for terrestrial areas, South Africa has a well developed marine science research capacity, her scientists standing at the forefront of many international endeavours. Public education and awareness programmes, however, have been slow to develop by comparison. On the whole, a poor environmental ethic exists amongst those using marine resources.

1.4. The Scope of Biodiversity Policy in South Africa

The formulation of a coherent biodiversity policy and strategy for South Africa is long overdue, and takes place at a time in South Africa's history when many other policies of relevance to biodiversity are being developed. In particular, this policy comprises part of the broader context wherein national environmental policy is presently being formulated (the Consultative National Environmental Policy Process or CONNEPP).

Other relevant policies that have recently been developed or are in the process of being developed include those on land, energy, trade and industry, tourism, science and technology, population, forestry, water and sanitation, minerals and mining, fisheries, integrated pollution control, coastal zone management, endangered species, and wetlands conservation. Also of relevance are the various policy initiatives taking place in response to international treaties, such as those on Climate Change and Desertification. At the international level, Agenda 21 - the global plan of action for sustainable development provides an important framework within which all of such policies need to be considered.

Underpinning all of these initiatives is South Africa's new Constitution which provides within its Bill of Rights that everyone has the right

1. to an environment that is not harmful to their health or well-being, and
2. to have the environment protected for the benefit of present and future generations, fhrough reasonable legislature and other measures that:
   1. prevent pollution and ecological degradation;
   2. promote conservation; and
   3. secure ecologically sustainable development and use of natural resources while promoting justifiable economic and social development.

The Constitution accords national and provincial government concurrent legislative competence in terms of most functions of relevance to biodiversity conservation. However, national parks, botanical gardens, and marine resources are an exclusively national competence. In terms of the Constitution, it is also the role of central government to administer international treaties. Thus it is the responsibility of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism to formulate general policy concerning the conservation and use of biodiversity, the implementation of which will be undertaken by different government institutions within central, provincial, and local spheres.

1.5. Major Concerns Expressed

Throughout this consultative process there has been remarkable consensus on the issues needing to be addressed by this policy. In many cases these concerns are not unique to biodiversity and span across the environmental spectrum.

For example, the fragmented, polarised, and inefficient administrative and legislative structures created by apartheid resulted in no fewer than 17 government departments having a primary responsibility for nature conservation prior to the April 1994 election. This situation did not improve with the establishment of new provinces and government structures. Divided responsibilities, together with a duplication of effort, a profusion of laws, and most importantly a lack of coordination, have been major factors hampering the effective conservation of biodiversity. Aggravating this has been a lack of integration of biodiversity considerations into national decision-making, weak political will with regard to environmental conservation, and the insufficient and declining allocation of resources to conservation. Over and again, the